Buick has best sales year ever, delivers over 1M cars globally

Wed, 08 Jan 2014

If there are any lingering doubts why General Motors held onto Buick while killing Pontiac, Hummer and Saturn, one only has to look at the sales numbers from 2013 for the real answer. Thanks largely to strong sales in China, Buick set a global sales record last year by selling more than one million vehicles.

The lion's share of Buick sales came from China, which sold more than 809,000 units – about four times more Buicks than were sold in North America as a whole. In the US, the Buick Encore accounted for almost half of all US sales with 97,311 units as Buick spent the summer trying to keep up with demand of the subcompact crossover. Likewise, China-only models like the GL8 minivan and Excelle sedan (same as the US-spec Verano) were strong sellers in that market.

For good measure, Buick more than doubled its sales in Mexico with 2,319 units. Scroll down for the full press release.

Buick Sets Global Sales Record Topping 1 Million in 2013
1,032,056 deliveries is best in brand's 110-year history
2014-01-08

DETROIT– Buick delivered 1,032,056 vehicles in China, the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2013, the most Buicks sold in a single year in the brand's 110-year history. The previous record was 1,003,345 sold in 1984.

Strong growth in both China and North America accounted for the record-breaking year, with global sales up 15.4 percent over 2012. China posted a 15.7 percent sales gain, while the U.S. delivered a 13.9 percent sales increase. Canada also saw strong sales growth, with a 9.5 increase over 2012. In the U.S., 42 percent of Buick buyers were new to the brand and to General Motors.

Buick experienced strong global growth in both crossovers and sedans from a product lineup that is among the freshest in the industry and the strongest the brand has ever featured.

The new Encore small crossover ended 2013 with 97,311 sales globally, while the eight-passenger Enclave saw sales grow 6.5 percent in North America. Enclave recorded its best year of U.S. sales in 2013. Exclusive to China, the GL8 posted an annual sales gain of 9.7 percent.

In the sedan segment, the China-exclusive compact Excelle again dominated in the compact sedan segment, delivering 6.9 percent sales growth. The Excelle GT and Verano compact sedans combined globally to deliver a 16.3 percent gain, while sales of the Excelle XT hatchback, sold only in China, were up 17.5 percent.

Country	2013 Volume	2012 Volume	Percent Change
China	809,918	700,007	15.7
United States	205,509	180,408	13.9
Canada	14,310	13,068	9.5
Mexico	2,319	1,122	106.6
Total	1,032,056	894,605	15.4

By Jeffrey N. Ross